How Effective is Online Training?

Posted on August 26th, 2009

There are many ways technology has impacted our lives for the better, and one of these developments is effective online training. It has become an option for many people, who were earlier deprived of the advantage of education and scheduled learning.

Effective online training can be in any sphere, ranging from fitness, to formal, accredited academic courses in various fields. Distance, location, gender, race or other factors are of no relevance in this kind of learning. The question is whether effective online training is as effective as conventional teaching or training, where students or participants are physically present.

Flexibility promote effective online trainingEffective online training is enhanced by its flexibility, which enables training sessions to be delivered to people in any location, without any time constraints at all. In a corporate environment, staff members in remote offices can access valuable training without having to bear the expense of travel, or interruption of work schedules.

The Cost Advantages of effective online training
One of the most crucial aspects of effective online training is that it does away with the infrastructure of conventional teaching and the need to travel.

Effective online training does require an infrastructure of its own, and on the back end, there are expenses in development and design, as well as hardware and bandwidth costs. On the other end, expenses are much lower, and students need only a computer, Internet connection, and standard web browser. Once the initial infrastructure costs have been sunk however, cost for delivery is much lower than the standard classroom, and the larger the audience for the training, the quicker would be the returns on the investment.

Effective online training is complimented by Excellent Teaching
The cost efficiencies achieved through effective online training and education means that more financial resources can be devoted to hiring the best teachers. As location is not an issue, it would be possible to hire the best educators from anywhere in the world, without being limited to hiring personnel in the immediate area. The quality of teachers and online accessibility to course information makes this kind of training a most effective one.

Better Learning is a result of effective online trainingThere are basic ways in which effective online training and learning can be measured, and the tracking of quality metrics becomes much more possible in the online educational environment. The online venue allows for student reaction to be taken and measured, surveys and polls to be issued, and feedback to be offered on an ad hoc basis.

The Hudson Institute has revealed in its research that students learn 30% more through effective online training and the Interactive Multimedia Association study indicated that the gains of learning were 56% greater and the content retention 25-30% more than in conventional training.

Features of online training softwareThe features of effective online training software are a blend of four parameters. The first of these is individualization, which means that the course is flexible and student-oriented to the extent that time, classes, study and feedback are all tailored to suit individual needs.

Then there is the aspect of immediate constructive feedback, due to the nature of the virtual classroom. Students can give their opinion on any part of the online course. There is active learner involvement in the online training modules and the course is composed of elements which appeal to multiple senses.

Unlike traditional teaching, which is highly structured and fairly rigid, effective online training takes full advantage of current technology to make learning an interactive, collaborative, interesting and evolving experience.

Effective online training has many advantagesThe most important aspect of effective online training is the way it increases the amount of training or learning that takes place. The training can be accessed when and where the student needs in a highly customized manner. With traditional training the student has to go to the trainer, be there at the time scheduled and learn as per the rules of the course. With effective online training, you can choose to learn at home, at the office desk, at the learning center, or just about any place if one is travelling or moving to another location.

ConclusionA new US Department of Education Meta-Analysis & Review of Online Study has revealed that effective online learning at the university level is more effective than the conventional classroom method. Time was one reason why effective online training and learning proves to be so successful, as it permits students to progress at their own pace, instead of one pace for the whole class.